Old currency deadline: Queues, frustration at banking halls in Kaduna
By Sumayyah Auwal Ishaq
Almost all banks are now attending to long queues in their banking halls as the deadline for the use old currency by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) draws closer, investigation by The Daily Reality has revealed.
The rush by customers to deposit old currency generated much chaos in and around banks premises across the Kaduna metropolis throughout the week. The queues at banks in Yakubu Gowon Way, Station Road, Kano Road and Sabon Tasha were characterized by commotion caused by slow speed of the deposit process and impatience by customers.
Some of the customers who spoke to TDR said they were scared of losing their monies as the CBN had warned that those who failed to remit their old currencies would lose it after the deadline.
Officials of these banks had a very hectic time controlling the huge crowd in their premises, even as customers complained of slow services by the banks. Some of the customers expressed frustration queueing in the sun and the difficulty in remitting their monies, suggesting that further extension of the deadline would ease their pain.
It would be recalled that the CBN had given all Nigerians up to the end of January, 2023 to remit their old currencies as it ceases to be a legal tender after the stipulated time.